Suddenly keyboard/mouse/USB ports flicker and stop working

I have a custom Windows 7 build and I swapped out my old SSD for a larger one a few days ago. Not long after I did that, I seemed to be running into a problem where my keyboard and mouse would stop working and start flickering. At first, it happened after the computer was on for hours. But now suddenly it happens within minutes of me starting up my computer.

I switched my new SSD out and put my old SSD back in, but it's still happening. I booted in safe mode with networking and it happened too. I've started it up 10 times today and it happened everytime within a few minutes. I moved my mouse and keyboard from the back USB ports to the front, and same thing.

What could this possibly be? Everything worked fine up until I switched the hard drives. Is it possible I did something to the connections in there when I was switching the drives? I just looked to make sure nothing was loose and everything was plugged in tightly. I'm desperate to get my computer working again. Please help?

Is this a combined mouse and keyboard? If so try this:Quite rapidly unplug it and re-insert it from the USB at least 6 times - I'm wondering if it is oxide on the plug. After that restart the computer and let us know if it is still doing it.

If so explain in detail the individual symptoms you get from the keyboard and the mouse.

Still happening. I've already tried a bunch of ports, so I don't I don't think it is the USB ports themselves. Something is not communicating correctly. I can unplug it and move it, and the keyboard will stop flickering and stay solid, but it still won't start working.

The symptoms are pretty basic. Mouse gets stuck in place and input on keyboard does nothing. Keyboard backlight goes on and off, sort of flickering, and same with the laser light the bottom of my mouse. Both are wired USB devices.

I don't really see anything in the event viewer except for this, which I've been getting for days...

Event ID 10, Source: WMI - Event filter with query "SELECT * FROM __InstanceModificationEvent WITHIN 60 WHERE TargetInstance ISA "Win32_Processor" AND TargetInstance.LoadPercentage > 99" could not be reactivated in namespace "//./root/CIMV2" because of error 0x80041003. Events cannot be delivered through this filter until the problem is corrected.

Do you know how to get into BIOS? It's not that I want you to "do" anything in there but if it is the same in BIOS it points to a hardware fault rather than Windows. The fact that it still happens in Safe Mode makes me wonder about hardware.

If you are not sure how to get to BIOS let us have your computer make and model number.

I do know how to get into the BIOS, I just don't know what to change or look at. I switched my disk controllers from IDE to ACHI because supposed that is newer, but that didn't do anything. I saw people saying overclocking caused similar issues, but my computer is running at its normal speed. (I have a Gigabyte motherboard but I don't remember the model. I can look it up if I need to)

edit: I turned off the setting that lets Windows turn off the USB root hub to save power. Waiting to see if that does anything. I tried updating the root hub drivers but it just stays stuck on searching online for software so I'm not sure if I can. I tried to install Windows 7 updates a while ago and it got stuck looking for them, so I'm not sure if I can get new drivers. I'm scared if I uninstall, Windows will fail to reinstall them, but I guess I have nothing to lose if my computer won't work anyway.

I just want to know if you still get the mouse and keyboard symptoms while in BIOS. Exit BIOS afterwards without changing anything. If it still does it in BIOS you have a hardware issue because Windows is not even running at that stage.

No, the keyboard and mouse seem to work fine in the BIOS. Granted, it's not like I sit in there for an hour or anything, but I was looking around and yeah, they work fine in there and haven't had the freeze happen in there.

The common factor between the keyboard and mouse appears to be the USBs. If there are any cables between the USB sockets and the motherboard then ensure they are firmly in place. Sometimes the oxide on plugs sockets and edge connectors can cause issues due to small movements when you work on the computer. Just unplugging them and connecting them a few times usually clears them.

If you do inside the case, and start unplugging things - whatever they may be - for whatever reason, ensure all power is disconnected from computer. Do not leave the mains cord attached, as if there are volts on that cable, and it's attachd to the computer, then even if the power on/off button/Switch is "off" there will still be volts running around the motherboard.

Ok, I think I have made some progress. I was googling around for people with similar problems, and one person identified that it was his mouse itself -- it seemed to be overloading the USB ports, which was why the keyboard went crazy too. So I found a random wireless mouse I had on-hand and used that instead of my wired mouse -- and magically the problems with my keyboard and mouse stopped happening. I don't have another desktop to test the wired mouse on, but I tested it on a laptop and it wasn't causing the same lock-ups. So who knows.

I do think something must've gone wrong with my hard drive switch though. I've swapped back and forth, testing each, and the new drive boots up slowly and doesn't seem to shut down properly, and sometimes it freezes. The old drive is working fine once I switched my mouse. I've tried Crystal Disk and Seagate Tools and I don't see any errors with the new SSD itself. (If anyone knows of better software, let me know.) So I am going to try to erase the new drive and re-clone my original. We'll see how it goes. If that still doesn't work, I will put a fresh install of Windows 7 on the new desk. If that still doesn't work, I will just return the new disk and hopefully they refund me.

If anyone has any other troubleshooting ideas though, please let me know.

The information on Computing.Net is the opinions of its users. Such
opinions may not be accurate and they are to be used at your own risk.
Computing.Net cannot verify the validity of the statements made on this
site. Computing.Net and Compnet Ventures, LLC hereby disclaim all responsibility
and liability for the content of Computing.Net and its accuracy.